Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Chapter 289: You Won't Be Able To Catch Up (4)

An unfamiliar ceiling.

An unfamiliar ceiling greeted me as I opened my heavy eyes.

“…Ungh…”

How long was it since I last felt this heavy?

I think this was the first time after I reached the Peak Realm.

…I think I’m going to throw up.

Was it because I used too much Qi yesterday?

Was my Dantian aching because I detonated my Qi instead of retrieving it?

Was this a type of muscle pain?

I gritted my teeth and raised my aching body.

Only then did I realize that I was at the inn we were staying at and it seemed like it was a little late in the morning.

“Sigh.”

It seemed like I passed out as soon as I returned.

To be fair, it would have been even stranger if I hadn’t passed out considering that I had turned the examination ground into a mess yesterday.

Well, I’m sure they’ll do something about that.

Right before I detonated the Qi marble, the first thing the Sword Queen did was to move to protect all of the Young Prodigies who could potentially be swept by the explosion.

As expected, she was the closest to my ideal martial artist from the Orthodox Sect.

Well, I wouldn’t have gone that far if I knew that.

I also made sure to control my Qi right before the explosion so that neither  I nor the others would be harmed by it.

My Dantian wouldn’t have been screaming in pain if I didn’t do that.

It would’ve been better if I didn’t detonate it in the first place…

But I couldn’t control myself after that treatment.

I said it before, but I wasn’t the most understanding person and I would only feel refreshed if I vented my stress out on the spot.

Anyway, I just sat still and spaced out for a while.

It wasn’t that I was actually spacing out, but instead, I was checking if the Qi within my body was flowing properly…

Hmm.

And I was able to visualize it after passing the Qi through my Dantian.

It seems like I can’t do anything reckless for a while.

Both my Dantian and blood vessels were aching.

They were now swollen because I used my Secret Art, so I needed to rest for a while.

“Tsk.”

Dammit, I should’ve just held back.

[Grr…]

On top of that, with the beast whining constantly to inform me that it was hungry, it was obvious that I would get a headache.

It seemed like this bastard was hungry because I used a lot of Qi yesterday.

“Stop annoying me and shut up. I was going to feed you a lot tomorrow even if you didn’t tell me.”

[Grr…]

As expected, it looked like I would have to go Demon hunting tomorrow.

I would’ve done this yesterday…

But there were delays due to the trouble I caused yesterday

And because I destroyed everything in sight, the exam was also delayed.

I wasn’t feeling guilty though.

If anything, it was the Sword Queen’s fault.

“Well, as expected, I guess I got some time to spare.”

Thanks to that, I now had a day off.

If I was being honest, I did somewhat expect that this would happen when I caused the mess.

But I didn’t think that it would actually happen.

I never imagined that the Murim Alliance would really delay their plans just because of a single Young Prodigy, but they did.

Thanks to that…

I should make good use of today.

It was fortunate that I had a day to deal with the things on my mind.

But before that …

If I remember correctly …

There was one person I needed to see from last night.

Creak–

I opened the door, and went down the stairs.

It was very quiet.

It was too late for breakfast, but it was too early for lunch as well.

Not many people were present at this time.

As I continued descending the stairs, I could see a person sitting at a table in the corner.

A group of people to be precise, and the inn wasn’t so silent just because of the time of the day, but the ladies sitting there.

“You woke up.”

Hearing me come down the stairs, the lady sipping her tea, Moyong Hi-ah gazed in my direction.

“You must’ve been really exhausted.”

“…A little I suppose?”

“Young Master! I heard the news! You created quite a stir.”

“That’s fast. It hasn’t even been that long.”

“We heard the sound of the explosion as well.”

To be fair, it would have been stranger if they hadn’t heard it, considering how loud the explosion was.

“Why did you do that?”

Moyong Hi-ah asked, as if she didn’t expect that.

It seemed like she found it strange that I caused that much ruckus with so many people around.

“It’s nothing special, someone just pissed me off a bit.”

That wasn’t all there was to it, but I decided to let it pass.

“But Young Master,  you were so cool!”

Said Tang Soyeol.

Now that I thought about it, wasn’t she in a different inn?

“…What? You saw it?”

The first group wasn’t even allowed near the second group’s examination ground.

And if they were caught by the instructors, their points would be deducted.

It was all fine if they weren’t caught, but even if the instructors seemed weak, they couldn’t be underestimated.

Did Tang Soyeol manage to avoid them and come to the second group?

When I asked her that, Tang Soyeol responded cheerfully.

“No, I didn’t see it!”

“Then how do you know?”

“Oh, I just imagined that you looked cool back there.”

“…”

Tang Soyeol was really the weirdest one of the bunch huh?

Especially her eyes.

“…I see. Did everyone pass?”

Both Moyong Hi-ah and Tang Soyeol tilted their heads on hearing my question.

It looked as if they were telling me that it was obvious.

You lot…?

Maybe not. I guess it really is obvious.

Well, they were from the Four Noble Clans after all, so I guess I should’ve looked at them differently.

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Does that mean that I was an idiot for failing in my past life?

It did.

I was a foolish, retarded dumbass.

Well, no use crying over spilled milk.

I turned my gaze away from the two girls and stared at the lady who was curled up with her head on the table.

It seemed like Namgung Bi-ah was dozing as always.

I don’t even need to ask her.

I didn’t even imagine Namgung Bi-ah failing.

As long as she did not try to avoid attempting the exam, the possibility of her failing was close to zero.

“Right, Young Master. Ah-hee was here as well.”

“…Hmm?”

I got a bit confused after hearing Tang Soyeol’s sudden words.

Ah-hee?  Was she referring to Peng Ah-hee?

“She came as well?”

“Huh? Yes.”

It would have been strange if she had not come, but I didn’t know that since I didn’t see her yesterday.

This means that all Four Noble Clans will attend the Academy.

That was pretty cool.

This was the reason they called us the Meteor Generation or whatever.

The situation was perfect.

And that bastard, Jang Seonyeon, took the top rank in such a situation in my past life, which was why everyone kept talking about him.

Being able to take the top seat even with the Four Noble Clans and the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes present must be the reason he attracted that much attention.

However, one thing didn’t make sense to me.

The others were understandable, but how did he manage to get the top seat with the Sword Dragon and the Water Dragon present?

Did he do something?

He must have.

It was impossible for that bastard to earn the top rank without playing dirty.

It looked like I would have to prevent him from doing the same this time as well.

I might as well do it since it’s in the way, right?

It would be for the best if I got rid of the bastard in the Heavenly Dragon Academy as I planned to.

“Well, that’s that.”

Flinch.

Realizing that I was now going to talk about her,  the girl sitting in the corner suddenly flinched.

Seeing that, I nodded my head.

So it wasn’t a dream.

I barely managed to keep myself awake after over-exerting myself, so I could just faintly remember Namgung Bi-ah dragging someone along with her.

And if that really wasn’t a dream…

“Have you eaten yet?”

That person was definitely Wi Seol-Ah.

I asked the lady who was still wearing the face cover and keeping her face hidden.

She hesitated for a moment..

“N…o.”

But I managed to get a response from her.

Seeing her like that, I smirked, wondering why she was still behaving like that.

Then, I spoke after a memory from the past suddenly came to mind.

“Would you like to eat a potato?”

“…?”

While it may have seemed that I was bringing up potatoes out of the blue…

-Want a potato?

But seeing Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes become wide, it looked like she remembered as well.

Seeing that, I spoke with a chuckle.

“Fine, it’s alright if you don’t want one.”

Wi Seol-Ah didn’t respond, but I guess she didn’t dislike it either.

Unfortunately, there were no potatoes at this inn.

How unfortunate indeed.

******************After that, I left the inn and went for a walk outside.

The streets were as crowded as ever.

And as I walked through the streets, I looked at the person following, or walking next to me.

The person who would have normally been chattering cheerfully and asking me a bunch of things, was way too quiet and was also keeping some distance between us.

After watching her like that for a while, I sighed and asked her.

“How long are you going to behave like that?”

And there was one thing that was bothering me the most.

I was speaking to Wi Seol-Ah who was still wearing her face cover and walking with me on the streets.

I came outside to take care of some business, and I asked Wi Seol-Ah to accompany me.

Seeing that, Tang Soyeol tried to follow us as well…

-No.

But Namgung Bi-ah grabbed her and forced her to stay behind.

Moyong Hi-ah didn’t try to do anything as she could read the atmosphere.

“…Should I take it off?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but why were you wearing it inside the inn as well?”

“About that…”

Well, Namgung Bi-ah and Moyong Hi-ah also covered their faces when they were outside, and since Wi Seol-Ah was beautiful enough to draw attention, it would’ve been better if she covered her face, but I couldn’t understand why she was doing that in my presence as well.

“You can’t even see properly.”

On hearing my words, Wi Seol-Ah raised her face cover a bit to show me her eyes.

How absurd…

I snorted loudly after seeing her golden pupils under the veil.

Is she teasing me on purpose?

And golden pupils huh?

Those pupils meant that Wi Seol-Ah’s Divine Arts had reached a certain level.

I wasn’t that knowledgeable about the Sword Emperor’s martial arts, but seeing how Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes and hair had turned golden in my past life as well, it seemed like she experienced such changes as she reached higher levels, just like me.

If I thought about how her hair turned a little golden the last time I saw her…

As expected, Wi Seol-Ah is still Wi Seol-Ah huh?

Wi Seol-Ah had overcome her wall and had now become a Peak realm martial artist during the time we were separated.

Considering how it hadn’t even been three years since she started learning the way of the sword…

…I’m speechless.

It was useless to try to understand her talent.

This was the very reason I excluded existences like the Heavenly Demon or Wi Seol-Ah when I thought about someone’s talent.

To begin with, their levels were beyond ordinary humans.

This was also the reason behind my urgency.

To take on her burden meant that I had to take on her role, and that meant that I needed to become at least as powerful as the Divine Sword was in my past life.

That’s really absurd.

I felt overwhelmed just thinking about it.

Just how much, or what did I need to do?

There was no way I knew the answers to those questions.

The future seemed bleak.

However...

Even so…

And I did not plan on handing over the burden back to her just because she started wielding her sword.

I might consider walking down the path along with her, but no way was I going to let her walk that path alone.

“Hey.”

“Yes…?”

“Do you want to eat that?”

I hid my frustration and pointed at something, Wi Seol-Ah turned to see what I was pointing at.

I was pointing at a food stall that sold skewers among the lined-up stalls.

“I’m sure you’re hungry, so let’s go eat.”

I knew well that she hadn’t eaten properly back at the inn and that she also enjoyed skewers.

Wi Seol-Ah fidgeted for a bit and then spoke on hearing my suggestion.

“I don’t feel like eating…”

“You don’t?”

“…”

She averted her gaze after I asked her that.

Huh? Was she embarrassed or something?

Is she feeling embarrassed because she eats a lot?

She was?

Just what happened for her to change that much in the few years we were apart?

After thinking for a while

“Just follow me even if you don’t want to, I want to eat one.”

I grabbed Wi Seol-Ah by her hand and dragged her along.

“Ah.”

She seemed surprised when I suddenly grabbed her wrist, but it didn’t look like she had any intention of escaping my grasp.

I walked through the crowd, and ordered two skewers from the stall.

One was for me, and the other was obviously for Wi Seol-Ah.

“…”

After staring at the skewer for a while, Wi Seol-Ah accepted it without a fuss.

“Just eat it. Don’t be like that.”

She still seemed hesitant, so I urged her after taking a bite myself.

Only then did Wi Seol-Ah take a bite as well.

Was it frowned upon to eat like this in the place she stayed? Why is she behaving like this?

I even considered that she might have really lost her appetite.

Was I being too forceful?

Is it too late to tell her to stop eating now?

As I was about to speak up…

“You don’t have to force yourself if you don’t wa… Huh, you are already done.”

“…Huh?”

“When did you finish that…?”

Didn’t you just take a bite like a moment ago?

Where did the contents of Wi Seol-Ah’s skewer disappear off to?

She managed to devour all of that so quickly?

Well, I was happy to see that she still had her love for food.

Judging by how she was panicking, it seemed that Wi Seol-Ah herself just realized she had already finished her food.

“This…! Why is it already gone…?”

“Maybe because it all went in your mouth?”

“That’s not possible… I really had no appetite… I swear!”

“Right, right, I’m sure. Do you want another one?”

“I’m being serious…”

Wi Seol-Ah fidgeted with her hands and feet in frustration, but that wouldn’t bring back the skewer she had just eaten.

“So, I guess that you don’t want another one then?”

After flailing her hands and feet in denial for a while, she paused and looked at me with trembling lips.

I didn’t plan to persuade her this time.

As I continued to stare at her with another skewer in my hand, she finally responded.

“…I want another one.”

“Good.”

After getting my desired response from her, I handed the skewer.

It looked like Wi Seol-Ah was frustrated, but I was satisfied.

At least this part of her remained the same.

“Oh, right. Wait, half of it already go… “

“Huh…?”

“Nothing, speak after you’re done. Did anything happen yesterday?”

“…”

Wi Seol-Ah suddenly paused after hearing my question.

I didn’t mean to disturb her, but nonetheless, I was curious.

There must have been a reason for Namgung Bi-ah to drag Wi Seol-Ah with her, and for Wi Seol-Ah to stay in the inn even though she used to run away from me.

Even if she didn’t tell me anything else, she had to at least tell me this.

Wi Seol-Ah just stared at me as she swallowed the food in her mouth.

Her eyes were pretty strange.

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

“…No. I can.”

I was glad. I would’ve felt a bit disappointed if she couldn’t tell me about it.

Did that mean that she needed some time to organize her thoughts?

I was a bit disappointed that the naïve and somewhat dumb Wi Seol-Ah had changed like this, but at the same time, I also felt that she was changing in a good way.

After taking some, Wi Seol-Ah finally responded to me.

-Last night… Sis and Young Master Jang met.

I was rather surprised when she spoke to me telepathically, but what she told me was even more surprising.

-…Who and who met?

-Young Master Jang… and Bi-ah sis.

That was unexpected.

Why did that bastard suddenly meet with Namgung Bi-ah?

-Sis told me that she was looking for me because she didn’t get to greet me yet.

-Then…

-But I happened to be talking with Young Master Jang at the time.

I wonder what Wi Seol-Ah and Jang Seonyeon were talking about.

I had too many questions.

-Then…?

In a way, Wi Seol-Ah’s explanation was rather simple.

Namgung Bi-ah had interrupted their conversation, and when Jang Seonyeon brought that up, Namgung Bi-ah didn’t seem to remember who he was.

She even told him not to get any closer because he smelled.

…

For her to tell him to back off because of his smell.

That did sound like something Namgung Bi-ah would say.

After all, she wasn’t someone who cared how others felt.

Even so…

Smell?

Even Jang Seonyeon would be hurt by that.

Nice.

That made it better.

-What happened after that?

-Then… Young Master Jang broke his expression and drew his sword.

Jang Seonyeon broke his expression huh…?

It must’ve been really insulting for him.

Though it did make sense.

It would’ve been stranger if he held back after being insulted like that.

If it was me, I would’ve burned the person who said that to me, it would only be their hair though.

But she didn’t tell me that they clashed swords.

Neither Namgung Bi-ah nor did anyone else tell me about it.

Even if the bastard from the Taeryung clan drew his sword first, he had enough justification as it was Namgung Bi-ah who interrupted them and told him that he smelled.

-So did they fight then?

-No.

Wi Seol-Ah responded firmly.

When Jang Seonyeon drew his sword…

[…If you don’t… put that back in…]

Namgung Bi-ah spoke to Jang Seonyeon…

[You’ll die…]

With her usual emotionless face.

Lightning Qi mixed with Combat Qi and killing intent emerged from Namgung Bi-ah’s body.

It must have been very shocking for  Wi Seol-Ah, who only knew the usual Namgung Bi-ah.

How scary.

She might have exaggerated a bit, but it reminded me of the Demonic Sword.

[…Crack.]

Because of that, Jang Seonyeon sheathed his sword and left.

Was he afraid?

Seeing Namgung Bi-ah like that, he felt unsure about his victory and because he believed that his plans would be messed up if he caused trouble there, he held himself back while grinding his teeth.

So to conclude, he was afraid.

At least, that was what it looked like to em

So, Namgung Bi-ah brought Wi Seol-Ah with her after that?

However, I was curious as to why Wi Seol-Ah came with Namgung Bi-ah quietly even though she kept avoiding me.

“…”

Just as I was lost in my thoughts, Wi Seol-Ah too was thinking about last night, when Namgung Bi-ah began to drag her along.

[Sis…! Wait…!]

Right as Wi Seol-Ah was about to tell her that she couldn’t come with her as it wasn’t time yet, Namgung Bi-ah spoke to her with a clear voice.

[If you run away now, there won’t be a spot for you next time.]

Clench.

She clenched her fist as she thought about that conversation.

Wi Seol-Ah didn’t know what was going through Namgung Bi-ah’s mind when she said that, but she knew that Namgung Bi-ah was serious.

As she was pondering over their conversation…

“That’s disappointing.”

“Huh?”

Wi Seol-Ah flinched when she heard my words.

“You did your best to run away from me, yet you came just because she dragged you?”

“N-No, Young Ma…!”

Realizing that she almost called me young master out of habit, Wi Seol-Ah shut her mouth.

It seemed like she was aware that she couldn’t address me as such any longer.

“That’s not it… I just…”

“I know.”

Seeing her curl up even more, I decided to stop teasing her.

“You said that you would protect me or whatever, yet you turned into a wet towel.”

“…Wet towel?”

“You just look down, like a wet towel hanging.”

“…”

I didn’t like seeing her like that.

At least, I didn’t want to see the Wi Seol-Ah from my past life.

Though she was beyond a wet towel back then.

It would be apt to say that she was frozen.

Very frozen.

That’s why I was glad.

If it was this much, it seemed like my heat could help dry her.

I handed her another skewer.

It looked like she wasn’t going to refuse them any longer.

“There’s one thing I really need to know”

I asked Wi Seol-Ah as she took a bite.

The thing I was really curious about.

And I had brought her along for the same reason, so after organizing my thoughts, I asked her.

“Do you know the reason your grandfather took you to the Taeryung Clan?”

“…!”

Wi Seol-Ah flinched.

It seemed like she knew the reason.

“That’s…”

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

“…”

Wi Seol-Ah’s lips trembled.

She seemed to be thinking.

Even so, I had to know.

I had to know the reason the Sword Emperor took Wi Seol-Ah to the Taeryung Clan with Wi Seol-Ah in this life as well.

Only after I learned the reason would I be able to finalize my plans.

“That’s…”

Just as Wi Seol-Ah was about to speak…

Woong.

I felt a vibration from my left hand, to be more precise, it was from the ring on my finger.

[Grrrr…]

Moreover, the beast within me reacted as well.

“…Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue.

And just as Wi Seol-Ah was about to speak.

When I frowned, Wi Seol-Ah, who was about to speak, looked pretty shocked.

“Young… Master?”

I spoke to the confused Wi Seol-Ah.

“I was planning to tell you to stay here while I took care of something, but you might run away if I did that.”

Clench.

I held Wi Seol-Ah’s hand tightly.

“Just follow me.”

It looked like my other plan for the day had taken the bait.